Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to near-field wireless communication tag control performed by an information processing apparatus including a near-field wireless communication tag.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there have been developed apparatuses each having a plurality of wireless communication means (methods). Further, there has been proposed a technique for transmitting and receiving information for connecting higher-speed wireless communication means, using lower-speed wireless communication means, between such apparatuses, and then changing the wireless communication means to the higher-speed wireless communication means (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-68748). In general, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) or NFC (Near Field Communication) is used as the lower-speed communication means. Further, Bluetooth™ or a wireless LAN (Local Area network) is often used as the higher-speed communication means.
Communication methods, such as RFID and NFC, are applied mainly between a reader/writer and a module called a “near-field wireless communication tag”. The reader/writer is configured to read data from and write data into the tag by transmitting radio waves. The tag is configured to perform communication using the radio waves transmitted from the reader/writer. Further, the tags include one having only wireless communication means as the communication means, and one also having other communication means independent of the wireless communication means. In general, the communication means included in the tag, which is independent of the wireless communication means, is implemented using wire, and is used for communication with a main controller of an apparatus equipped with the tag. The tag is generally capable of autonomously performing wireless communication. To this end, the tag is provided with a mechanism for generating an interrupt signal, and an apparatus equipped with the tag is provided with a mechanism for detecting completion of wireless communication of the tag, based on the interrupt signal generated by the tag. The tag has a function for sending a response to a request from the reader/writer. Therefore, the interrupt signals generated by the tag include one for notifying the apparatus equipped with the tag of detection of the radio waves transmitted from the reader/writer, and one for notifying the apparatus that a response to a request from the reader/writer has been normally made.
However, to allow the reader/writer of an external apparatus to read data from or write data into the tag, some of the apparatuses equipped with the tag are required to select the type of an interrupt signal generated by the tag. For this reason, there is a demand for a mechanism which sets the type of an interrupt signal to be generated, for the tag, by taking into account the direction of data transfer performed by the tag via the wireless communication means.